Stepfather Held In Killing

The stepfather of a local teenager who was found stabbed to death in the trunk of a car earlier this week in Hartford was charged with murder in the youth's death as part of an escalating domestic feud, police said Friday night.

Calvert S. Wray, 38, of Windsor, was charged with capital felony and felony murder Friday after police said they had developed "significant" evidence linking Wray to the stabbing death of 18-year-old Clinton "Junior" Cooke.

Windsor police Capt. Tom LePore said Wray was booked after being questioned by detectives at town police headquarters. LePore declined to say if Wray confessed to the crime, but described him as "agreeable" and "cooperative" during questioning.

Wray was being held Friday night, with bail set at $1 million, and is scheduled to appear Monday at Superior Court in Enfield.

Wray's arrest came one week after Windsor police charged him with threatening in connection with a domestic violence complaint at the home of Cooke and his mother, Maxine Wray. She filed for divorce from Calvert Wray the day before the arrest, records show. A restraining order was also issued against Calvert Wray in the days before Cooke was killed, records show.

LePore said detectives believe Calvert Wray went to Maxine Wray's home and confronted Cooke about 4:30 a.m. Monday as Cooke was getting ready to go to work. Wray then beat and stabbed Cooke and dumped him in the trunk of Cooke's 2003 Honda Accord, LePore said.

From there, Wray drove the Accord to Hartford, leaving it in a driveway with Cooke's body in the trunk, and apparently walked back to Windsor, Le-Pore said. The body was discovered the next day when the car was towed to an auto storage facility, where an employee noticed blood smeared on the trunk and called police.

LePore said police believe Wray carried out the killing in connection with the domestic strife that had been taking place within the family, but declined to elaborate. The Wrays were married in Hartford last September, according to a license in the town clerk's office in Windsor.

LePore praised Maxine Wray and other members of Cooke's family for helping to provide crucial pieces of information and evidence that helped lead to an arrest in the case, but declined to elaborate more on that as well.

A man who identified himself as Cooke's father walked out of Windsor police headquarters shortly before Wray's arrest was announced Friday night. The man, who did not give his name, said he and the rest of Cooke's family were pleased about the arrest.

"We're happy with it," he said as he got into a car and rode off. "I just told the police I thought they did a very good job."